There are a lot of young players starting to come through now. BD's main problem atm in batting strength is the top 3 positions. mominul is beginning to be groomed as a #3 but was originally a middle order bat, anamul is being groomed as an opener/#3. now i think in the more recent future we could be looking at anamul as opener and mominul the #3 but as SS develops we could well see him as the long term 2nd opener with anamul slotted in as the long term #3 and mominul batting in the middle order (probably #4) with shakib remaining at #5 then nasir/mushy taking the next two spots.

but we also have naeem looking like a good FC middle order bat and shuvagata has been good so far and if continues he'll surely be pushing for higher honours. tasamul is also coming through and we can't forget asif ahmed.

there is a lot more competition now for batting spots in the national team, not just middle order (shakib, nasir, riyad, mushy, naeem, shuvagata, tasamul) but top 3 with nazim, imrul, SN, junaid, jahurul, anamul, asif, SS, mominul. what's good now is that players are becoming a lot more consistent domestically so that's going to force whoever does get selected for national colours to work hard and perform otherwise they'll be gone and they'll have to work their way back into the team (players aren't giving up their spots as easily now and i think there will be an upward trend in that).

i think where the batting is now weak in the top 3 in a few years time it could be a strength, i think anamul, asif and SS will push each other to be better and better to the point where the top 3 will be very strong and as it is now the middle order is already pretty strong and the competition is continuing to get stiffer.

all in all i think there are really good signs that BD's batting is improving and will continue to improve and become quite strong.

I think we can have a good middle order in the next year or so with all batsman averaging above 30. With competition in the future I can see our middle order batsman averaging 35+ in a few years. I'm worried about #2 and #3 positions. In ODIs we only have Anamult #3 and SS at #2 in a few years time. I'm concerned with who will bat as the 2nd openers spot at present in both formats. Anamul could take the #3 spot but if he doesn't manage to nail it. We're back to square one again.

Our future will never be bright until our young cricketers are able to win youth competitions on a regular basis. Lets not forget if our young players get dominated by the young players of other cricketing nations then the situation is unlikely to improve once they grow older and come into the national team because the same youngsters from other team's will also find their way into their respective national teams.

Winning something big at the youth level is probably the best indicator of what future holds for us and until that happens we are looking a producing one or two good cricketers per generation surrounded by mediocrity

I expect some major changes in the batting order in near future. All these Nazim/Kayes/Junaid Siddique/Shahriar Nafees will very soon fade. I am also losing hope on Jahurul and Shuvagoto Hom. We have few upcoming players, even though are untested, seem much better than the above mentioned bunch. Players like Anamul/Mominul/Asif Ahmed/Soumya Sarker/Nurul Hasan Sohan will come in quickly and Naeem Islam is finding his groove again.

Why doesn't everything think Anamul is an (Test) opener? He's a #3. How hard is that concept to grasp? Its better to keep someone on the bench then to play him out of position. Or are we trying to perpetually re-create the Ashraful fiasco?

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
Why doesn't everything think Anamul is an (Test) opener? He's a #3. How hard is that concept to grasp? Its better to keep someone on the bench then to play him out of position. Or are we trying to perpetually re-create the Ashraful fiasco?

I've been thinking the same. Nowadays Anamul plays at the #3 spot. I think he himself figured out he's a lot more effective there. He mentioned in an interview that's his preferred spot. Junaid is a good example of the difference between playing as an opener and playing at #3. He did quite well after coming down to #3. I also dislike the fact that a lot of people are placing Mominul a middle order batsman ( positions. #4,#5) into a top order #3. There is a difference there and I feel he'll fail and we'll ruin him if he bats at #3.

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
Why doesn't everything think Anamul is an (Test) opener? He's a #3. How hard is that concept to grasp? Its better to keep someone on the bench then to play him out of position. Or are we trying to perpetually re-create the Ashraful fiasco?

It doesnt matter if he is #3 but he opens the batting, Anamul should be able to show that he can perform decently. A player doesnt perform horribly if he is a natural #3 but he opens. If Ponting opened the batting he wouldnt do 'horrible'. If Trott opened the batting he would do horrible. This logic of 'he is a #3, so if he opens the batting he will do bad' logic doesnt make sense to me.

Anamul and Mominul are yet to even prove that they are capable of playing at this level, we started making them superstars. I don't know how many of us will have a heart attacks, if they turn out to be worse than Nazimuddin/Junaid... there is all the possibility. I don't see any exceptional performances from them to make such opinion.

Anamul failed to show any sign n the series against Zim...although it was T20s, but it was cricket after all and all the great players have been able to cope up with this format, even by playing proper cricketing shots. And whatever little I have seen of Mominul in BPL, I didn't find anything to be thrilled ..... Well he played one good knock. How can we take them as sure success candidates for the national team, I don't understand.

I think there is lesser difference between a 3 and a 4 then there is between a 2 and a 3. Three through 5 are similar positions really and the difference is only in calibre/seniority with the former taking priority. The 6 position is also similar but at point you start batting with the lower order and tail and thus he should be more of a finisher, even in Tests.

Originally Posted by Tiger444
I can see Soumya batting as opener, Anamul at #3 and Mominul at #4. The key is for them to continue to rack up the big scores and be consistent. Their time will come soon enough.

The team selection will be hard with that kind of a team when you have Shakib, Mushfiq, Nasir, Naeem and Riyad to pick from when the #5, #6, #7 positions are the only ones left. Shakib is auto pick for #5.

Originally Posted by BengaliPagol
The team selection will be hard with that kind of a team when you have Shakib, Mushfiq, Nasir, Naeem and Riyad to pick from when the #5, #6, #7 positions are the only ones left. Shakib is auto pick for #5.

Not sure about Shakib, Mushi and Tamim making the grade when guys like Rocky, The ShuVos, Mehrab "Junior", and Myshukur will be at their best after a few more seasons in the NCL, easily the greatest FC cricket anywhere.

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Originally Posted by BengaliPagol
The team selection will be hard with that kind of a team when you have Shakib, Mushfiq, Nasir, Naeem and Riyad to pick from when the #5, #6, #7 positions are the only ones left. Shakib is auto pick for #5.

Thats probably the future. Dont know how long Naeem will stay consistent for. Riyad cant possibly fit in the team.

yeah at this stage it looks like this could be a real possibility. but i wouldn't count out asif, shuvagata and tasamul. also nurul seems to be doing pretty well this season with bat and gloves, he's one of the best pure keepers in the country and his batting has come along this season so he along with dhiman could put pressure on mushy especially if mushy is batting at #7 where batting skills aren't as important as batting in the top 6.

Originally Posted by BengaliPagol
The team selection will be hard with that kind of a team when you have Shakib, Mushfiq, Nasir, Naeem and Riyad to pick from when the #5, #6, #7 positions are the only ones left. Shakib is auto pick for #5.

Surprised very few are considering the prospect of playing Nasir in the top 5. Nasir has good technique and sth our other batsmen dont have-calmness and the ability to occupy the crease. He has been very consistent having done well in ODI, T20 and Tests in his short career. And lets not forget he is just 20. So while all the hype is with Anamul and Mominul lets not forget about Nasir.

Theres a lot of pessimism in the media how we havent made progress in the last 12 years. But having guys with the ability of Tamim, Shakib, Nasir, Mominul, Anamul in the same team-its never happened before in Bangladeshi cricket. Add Mushfiq, Riyad to the mix we have a pretty decent batting lineup. One which will definitely put fighting totals, and be able to chase down scores.

The #2 spot is a worry for me. Hopefully with 4 guys fighting for that spot we'll see increased competition and an improvement in performances. In the long run I hope Soumya Sarkar can be a consistent player for us.

The #2 spot is a worry for me. Hopefully with 4 guys fighting for that spot we'll see increased competition and an improvement in performances. In the long run I hope Soumya Sarkar can be a consistent player for us.

ok now let's see their batting ability and what we can expect from them

1. Tamim- around 70-80
2. Junaid/Jahurul/Nazimuddin/Shahriar or any jodu modu kodu will at best add another 30 runs
3. Anamul- Yet to be tested
4. Naeem- he will just hang in there as long as he can
5. Shakib- Mr 50, if he is lucky then will stretch it to 80-90
6. Mushfiq- 30-40
7. Riyad- 20-30
8. Nasir- 40-50

So based on this we should be able to put up a 300+ runs on a consistent basis and once in a while we will see someone getting that magical 100 and push the score further. So that's basically our batting ability regardless of the pitch. It's sad that we still haven't found a player who can score 100 on a consistent basis

Originally Posted by oronnya
ok now let's see their batting ability and what we can expect from them

1. Tamim- around 70-80
2. Junaid/Jahurul/Nazimuddin/Shahriar or any jodu modu kodu will at best add another 30 runs
3. Anamul- Yet to be tested
4. Naeem- he will just hang in there as long as he can
5. Shakib- Mr 50, if he is lucky then will stretch it to 80-90
6. Mushfiq- 30-40
7. Riyad- 20-30
8. Nasir- 40-50

So based on this we should be able to put up a 300+ runs on a consistent basis and once in a while we will see someone getting that magical 100 and push the score further. So that's basically our batting ability regardless of the pitch. It's sad that we still haven't found a player who can score 100 on a consistent basis

anamul is potentially that player that will score 100 on a consistent basis, he is obviously great at converting 50s to 100s as he has more FC 100s than 50s. naeem has also been one of the better century scorers in domestics and hopefully with this test ton he'll carry that momentum on to being consistent at the test level. now for tamim, he's always had the ability and he's actually converted to centuries a lot more than other BD batsmen in the international game, being that he scored tons very consistently in the current NCL i have strong hope he will be able to translate that quite soon to the test level. shakib has had the ability to be one of the best batsmen for ages, but he more often than not struggles to convert 50s to 100s, he is mentally strong enough to get past this problem but it could take another couple of years. mushy has the ability also but mentally he's not there, i find that interesting because even though he wasn't scoring runs early on in his test career he was a player that would fight and try his best to hang in there and grind it out but he hasn't really developed that that part of his game yet.

i really don't think we should bat down to #8 though, if we do that the bowling suffers to much. just because we have a lot of middle order batsmen competing for spots in the XI doesn't mean we have to fit them all in, create some competition, the ones that can fit into the first 7 places play in that XI and the ones that don't are just going to have to keep scoring and keep pushing to knock someone out of the team and to take the opportunity when they get it.

if we always bat to #8 and our bowling isn't good enough to take wickets then we'll never be able to win test matches. some people might be content with BD drawing test matches, but most won't be and the rest of the world certainly won't see BD drawing test matches as good enough unless there are wins there to.

Originally Posted by Gowza
anamul is potentially that player that will score 100 on a consistent basis, he is obviously great at converting 50s to 100s as he has more FC 100s than 50s. naeem has also been one of the better century scorers in domestics and hopefully with this test ton he'll carry that momentum on to being consistent at the test level. now for tamim, he's always had the ability and he's actually converted to centuries a lot more than other BD batsmen in the international game, being that he scored tons very consistently in the current NCL i have strong hope he will be able to translate that quite soon to the test level. shakib has had the ability to be one of the best batsmen for ages, but he more often than not struggles to convert 50s to 100s, he is mentally strong enough to get past this problem but it could take another couple of years. mushy has the ability also but mentally he's not there, i find that interesting because even though he wasn't scoring runs early on in his test career he was a player that would fight and try his best to hang in there and grind it out but he hasn't really developed that that part of his game yet.

i really don't think we should bat down to #8 though, if we do that the bowling suffers to much. just because we have a lot of middle order batsmen competing for spots in the XI doesn't mean we have to fit them all in, create some competition, the ones that can fit into the first 7 places play in that XI and the ones that don't are just going to have to keep scoring and keep pushing to knock someone out of the team and to take the opportunity when they get it.

if we always bat to #8 and our bowling isn't good enough to take wickets then we'll never be able to win test matches. some people might be content with BD drawing test matches, but most won't be and the rest of the world certainly won't see BD drawing test matches as good enough unless there are wins there to.

I hope Anamul does score 100s more consistently. Of course Tamim and Shakib are more capable of doing it. They have good techniques and can dismantle any bowling attack. The only problem is their temperament. They just can't settle their nerves once they cross 50 and they just rush it. Shakib has five and Tamim has three 85+ innings which easily could've been converted to 100. And the way they are still playing seems like they are not learning.

Actually I think the decision to bat down to 8 is ok as we still don't have many decent bowlers who are able to take 20 wickets. Our pacers are complete useless so I think we should go with one pacer. I know it's not ideal in test but if the pacers are just giving away too many runs and is not able to trouble the batsmen rather help them settle then it's better we take 2 spinners and we already have a full time bowler in Shakib. So that gives you 4 bowlers. Our spinners will at least stop the run flow and will try to take wickets. So as we have a toothless bowling attack, most of the time we will see the opposition scoring 500+ runs and the only way to match that is to have a deep batting line up.Specially when we know there is always 2 walking wickets in the line up.